The importance of new foreign direct investment as a vehicle for the formation of productive capital has stimulated interest in understanding why multinational enterprises (MNEs) choose particular locations for their investments. Using data from greenfield investments reported on the Bureau of Economic Analysis Survey of new foreign direct investment in the United States, I analyze how locational characteristics influence the choice of where foreign MNEs establish their new investments in the United States. Identifying location choice at the metropolitan statistical area level allows me to analyze both traditional determinants of location choice such industrial agglomeration as well as measures of international connectivity that have been studied in research on global cities. My results support the finding that global cities are attractive to foreign direct investors in the United States not just by virtue of their population or industrial agglomeration, which serve to attract investment, but by virtue of a much wider set of attributes, related to their demography and connections to the wider world.

中文翻译：

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外国直接投资者在美国的大都市统计区选址

新的外国直接投资作为形成生产性资本的工具的重要性激发了人们对了解为什么跨国企业 (MNEs) 选择特定地点进行投资的兴趣。使用美国经济分析局新外国直接投资调查报告的绿地投资数据，我分析了区位特征如何影响外国跨国公司在美国设立新投资的地点的选择。在大都市统计区域层面确定区位选择使我能够分析区位选择的传统决定因素，例如产业集聚，以及在全球城市研究中研究过的国际连通性措施。